Despite Major League Baseball's likely suspension of All Star shortstop Jhonny Peralta, it would be inaccurate to say there is an ominous cloud hanging over the Tigers.

They just went 8-0 on a homestand. The idea the Tigers have been underachieving, which had been the notion prior to the All Star break, has become ridiculous. They are closing in on the best record in baseball.

It's been easy for the Tigers lately.

Too easy?

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"It was like a fairy tale," manager Jim Leyland said of the Tigers' homestand. "We won every game and every game was a sellout."

Peralta's pending departure, likely Monday, doesn't come at the best time, even considering the acquisition of slick-fielding infielder Jose Iglesias. Third baseman Miguel Cabrera, the best hitter in baseball, has been out of the lineup with an injury. He didn't run well to first base after a pinch hit single to leadoff the 12th inning of Detroit's 3-2 win over the Chicago White Sox Sunday. He hasn't started the last four games.

Second baseman Omar Infante has been on the disabled list far longer than anticipated. When you likely throw Peralta's bat into the mix of those unavailable, it does weaken the lineup, which is first in MLB in batting average and on-base percentage, second in runs scored and third in slugging percentage.

Oh, the Cleveland Indians are not going away. Despite all Detroit's victories of late, the Indians have clung to the Tigers in the American League Central standings like a dog that won't yield its bone. The Tigers are 9-1 in their last 10 games. So are the Indians. Cleveland has a better record than Baltimore Orioles, the New York Yankees and the Texas Rangers. They are better than anyone could have possibility anticipated.

"There's an old manager who told you that a long time ago," Leyland said, referring, of course, to himself.

The Tigers open a four-game series in Cleveland Monday. The Tigers then go to New York to play the Yankees. These next seven days are important and the Tigers don't figure to be at their best physically. Ideally, they'd put Cabrera on the disabled list to heal fully. The timing couldn't be worse for it, though, based on the schedule.

Asked a half-dozen different ways about the Cleveland series, Leyland kept going back to the same message. It was to not make more out of it than necessary.

"They have a very good team and we have a very good team," Leyland said. "We'll play and see who wins. It's pretty simple."

The Indians have threatened the Tigers all season, but those threats have seemed hollow because head-to-head it hasn't been close. The Tigers have won nine of the 12 games between the two teams.

The Tigers usually put MLB's best collection of stars on the field.

So it was unusual Sunday a third of their starting lineup - Ramon Santiago at second base, Iglesias at third base and Don Kelly - could easily be playing Triple-A ball.

It didn't matter. The Chicago White Sox are essentially a minor league team in major league uniforms at this point, having lost 10 straight games. It's difficult to believe the White Sox had the Tigers on the ropes just last season, up by three games with only 16 remaining, before collapsing. Only the Houston Astros have more losses than the White Sox in 2013.

For reasons that are next to impossible to explain, the Tigers are a much different team on the road than at home. Their record at home - 37-19. On the road, it is 27-26. The Indians are 37-19 at home.

The Tigers are built to survive the Peralta suspension - within reason. Iglesias is a flashy fielder. He has a small frame, but he takes a healthy cut and should be adequate if the upgrade he provides defensively is taken into account compared to the downgrade it will be offensively compared to Peralta.

In theory, the division race should all but be over now. The fact it is still very much on emphasizes the point about how difficult it is to wade through a 162-game season - even if you're the best team, by far, on paper.